Neurons release neurotransmitters by calcium-dependent exocytosis of synaptic vesicles. However, the molecular steps transducing the calcium signal into membrane fusion are still an enigma. It is reported here that synaptotagmin, a highly conserved synaptic vesicle protein, binds calcium at physiological concentrations in a complex with negatively charged phospholipids. This binding is specific for calcium and involves the cytoplasmic domain of synaptotagmin. Calcium binding is dependent on the intact oligomeric structure of synaptotagmin (it is abolished by proteolytic cleavage at a single site). These results suggest that synaptotagmin acts as a cooperative calcium receptor in exocytosis.

A family of highly polymorphic neuronal cell surface proteins, the neurexins, has been identified. At least two genes for neurexins exist. Each gene uses alternative promoters and multiple variably spliced exons to potentially generate more than a 100 different neurexin transcripts. The neurexins were discovered by the identification of one member of the family as the receptor for alpha-latrotoxin. This toxin is a component of the venom from black widow spiders; it binds to presynaptic nerve terminals and triggers massive neurotransmitter release. Neurexins contain single transmembrane regions and extracellular domains with repeated sequences similar to sequences in laminin A, slit, and agrin, proteins that have been implicated in axon guidance and synaptogenesis. An antibody to neurexin I showed highly concentrated immunoreactivity at the synapse. The polymorphic structure of the neurexins, their neural localization, and their sequence similarity to proteins associated with neurogenesis suggest a function as cell recognition molecules in the nerve terminal.

alpha-Latrotoxin is a potent stimulator of neurosecretion. Its action requires extracellular binding to high affinity presynaptic receptors. Neurexin I alpha was previously described as a high affinity alpha-latrotoxin receptor that binds the toxin only in the presence of calcium ions. Therefore, the interaction of alpha-latrotoxin with neurexin I alpha cannot explain how alpha-latrotoxin stimulates neurotransmitter release in the absence of calcium. We describe molecular cloning and functional expression of the calcium-independent receptor of alpha-latrotoxin (CIRL), which is a second high affinity alpha-latrotoxin receptor that may be the major mediator of alpha-latrotoxin's effects. CIRL appears to be a novel orphan G-protein-coupled receptor, a member of the secretin receptor family. In contrast with other known serpentine receptors, CIRL has two subunits of the 120 and 85 kDa that are the result of endogenous proteolytic cleavage of a precursor polypeptide. CIRL is found in brain where it is enriched in the striatum and cortex. Expression of CIRL in chromaffin cells increases the sensitivity of the cells to the effects of alpha-latrotoxin, demonstrating that this protein is functional in coupling to secretion. Syntaxin, a component of the fusion complex, copurifies with CIRL on an alpha-latrotoxin affinity column and forms stable complexes with this receptor in vitro. Interaction of CIRL with a specific presynaptic neurotoxin and with a component of the docking-fusion machinery suggests its role in regulation of neurosecretion.